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The mainstream media generally is not very friendly to Israel, seemingly blaming it for stalling the Middle East "peace process" and frequently parroting Arab propaganda. The Obama administration seems of similar bent.
I will not belabor the point, but just look at a map of the region and imagine the entire West Bank in the hands of Arabs most of whom wish only that all Jews die. Central Israel would be only 15 miles wide, with some of its main cities in Arab crosshairs. The same danger accrues to the Golan Heights.
Anyone who thinks a paper agreement "guaranteeing Israel's right to exist," assuming you can get the Arabs to sign it, is a guarantee of safety is smoking something. At a minimum. the western half of the West Bank, encompassing the high hills, is essential to Israeli survival.
The validity of an agreement depends on the character and morality of the signers. Witness the North Korean nuclear non-proliferation agreement negotiated with much fanfare by that great peacmaker, Jimmy Carter, some years ago. North Korea simply ignored it, using it to camouflage its ongoing nuke development program.
A current example of national character and morality is currently being played out in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. Among the very first responders, along with the U.S., Britain and France, was Israel, a nation of 7.5 million, who immediately sent a 220-person highly experienced rescue team (lots of local practice), including a fully-equipped and staffed large field hospital set up in Port-au-Prince and capable of treating 5000 patients per day. This team just rescued a 22-year-old man buried in the rubble for 10 days and treated him in their field hospital He is is stable condition.
Many other nations have sent money and supplies.
The oil-rich Arab and Muslim world has sent nothing.
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17 Comments
jmark - Jan 24, 2010 7:47 PM
"Now: I was wondering how long it would take for American conservatives to blame the Muslim world for its perceived lack of aid to Haiti. Didn't take long: Jamie Allman, a talk radio host from St. Louis, says the Muslim world is "missing" from the list of donors to Haiti. (And I'm sure he isn't the only one to make this claim.)
Allman is lying. We've put together a partial list of donations from Muslim countries -- it's after the jump -- all of it culled from English-language news reports. Allman had access to the same information, if he'd actually bothered to do any research.
Bahrain: The government has donated $1 million to relief efforts.
Jordan: A Jordanian air force plane carrying a military field hospital and 6 tons of food and supplies left Amman on January 14. A second plane carrying Jordanian medics left the following day.
Iran: Iran's Red Crescent society sent 30 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, tents and medicine, on January 16.
jmark - Jan 24, 2010 7:47 PM
Lebanon: Lebanon is loading a plane with 25 tons of tents and 3 tons of medical supplies; it leaves tomorrow.
Morocco: Two planes carrying 24 tons of aid left the city of Kenitra on January 16. The Moroccan government has pledged $1 million in aid to Haiti.
Qatar: A Qatari C-17 aircraft loaded with 50 tons of aid left for Port-au-Prince on January 14. The Qatari government also sent a rescue team to set up a field hospital; the Red Crescent will sent another $100,000.
Turkey: Three cargo planes -- carrying search-and-rescue teams, a mobile hospital and aid materials -- left for Haiti on January 16. Another two planes left yesterday. Turkey has also donated $1 million in cash.
United Arab Emirates: The UAE sent two planes loaded with tents, and a team from the UAE's Red Crescent will arrive in the Dominican Republic tomorrow to buy $500,000 worth of supplies and truck them to Haiti. Another 50 tons of emergency supplies will be air-lifted from Abu Dhabi tomorrow.
http://www.themajlis.org/2010/01/18/muslim-countries-are-in-fact-helping-haiti
aneuhauser - Jan 25, 2010 12:22 AM
In all fairness, though, the information concerning the lack of Arab/Muslim contribution does come from an Israeli source, so it certainly could be considered biased. The Israeli friend who sent it to me is very honest and principled, not given to wild claims, but he certainly is pro-Israel. He gets much of his information from the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, which is actually pretty middle-of-the-road.
I'll try to find out his actual source and publish it here.
However, I think it is fair to say that proportionally, Israel's contribution far outweighs the Arab/Muslim response, if any. And Saudi-Arabia's lack of response is a disgrace.
aneuhauser - Jan 25, 2010 12:44 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX-UmrFAWNw&feature=player_embedded
2Cents - Jan 25, 2010 8:35 AM
USA, USA, USA, USA!
jhayett - Jan 25, 2010 1:56 PM
I do want you and others to know that the US did send a hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, along with an aircraft carrier to Haiti. Both arrived a week ago or sooner. Both ships can hold well over one thousand seriously injured Haitians. The USNS Comfort also sets up land based hospitals on shore.
I too wonder why the rest of the word has sat by and done nothing all the while they attack us as if we are “satin.” But what really angers me are the msm outlets that jump on this and in some cases, agree. That’s one of our biggest reasons we have such division in our country. There are too many living right here that are clueless as to how great and how giving we are to the rest of the world.
jmark - Jan 25, 2010 2:02 PM
http://www.themajlis.org/static/about
Their story is corroborated, and sourced by Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_response_by_national_governments_to_the_2010_Haiti_earthquake
The Saudis are donating $50 million to Haiti (better late than never), which should come as no surprise considering the "close" relationship the president has with the royal family.
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/52693858?esource=life_license
Carl Hicks - Jan 26, 2010 1:36 PM
I thought you might be interested in this news piece from the middle east.
jmark - Jan 26, 2010 3:47 PM
http://mediamatters.org/research/201001140029
jmark - Jan 27, 2010 3:29 PM
In 2007 we gave $208 million in economic aid to Haiti.
In 2007 we gave $168 million in economic aid to Israel.
Haiti had a 2008 GDP (PPP) Per capita of $1,300.
Israel had a 2008 GDP (PPP) Per capita of $28,600.
We gave more economic aid to Israel on a per capita basis then we did to Haiti. When did the prosperous nation of Israel become an American welfare state?
And then there's the $2,508,000,000 we gave them in military aid ($334 per capita). Hey, the more sophisticated the weaponry, the easier it is to deal with the rock throwing neighbors.
aneuhauser - Jan 27, 2010 5:39 PM
jmark: At least the Israelis have done something useful with it. If you had the neighbors they do, I think you'd want all the protection you could get. I don't think Russian SA-18 SAM's qualify as rocks.
From Ha'aretz:
"Hezbollah is armed with advanced Iranian-supplied missiles capable of reaching targets deep inside Israel, according to a report in Friday's edition of the London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Quds al-Arabi."
jmark - Jan 27, 2010 7:51 PM
aneuhauser - Jan 28, 2010 11:42 PM
For the record, I resent your use of my zero-sum commentary in this context.
jmark - Jan 29, 2010 9:28 AM
aneuhauser - Jan 30, 2010 12:37 AM
The philosophical basis of terrorism is Wahabbism, a radical, Shari'a-based Sunni Muslim sect from Saudi Arabia. It numbers much more than "a maniacal few."
From Wikipedia:
Having the world's largest reserves of oil [...], Saudi Arabia began to spend tens of billions of dollars throughout the Islamic world promoting Wahhabism. [...] [T]he figure may be "upward of $100 billion".
It [...] funded an estimated "90% of the expenses of the entire faith", throughout the Muslim world. [...] It extended to young and old, from children's madrasas to high-level scholarship. [...]"more than 1500 mosques were built from Saudi public funds over the last 50 years". It [...] built satellite campuses around Egypt [...].
The financial power of Wahhabist advocates [...] has done much to overwhelm less strict local interpretations of Islam and has caused the Saudi interpretation to be perceived as the "gold standard" of religion in many Muslims' minds.
jmark - Jan 30, 2010 11:05 AM
"The people of Saudi Arabia are now among the most pro-American and anti-terrorist of any in the entire Muslim world."
http://www.terrorfreetomorrow.org/upimagestft/TFT%20Saudi%20Arabia%20Survey.pdf
http://www.terrorfreetomorrow.org/template.php?section=AU
jmark - Feb 01, 2010 9:21 AM
The militant Islam of Osama bin Laden does not have its origins in the teachings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and is not representative of Wahhabi Islam as it is practiced in contemporary Saudi Arabia, yet for the media it has come to define Wahhabi Islam in the contemporary era."
Wikipedia